The judicial panel that was to preside over the appeal of Ahmed Abdallah (Abu Islam) and his son withdrew from the case relating to contempt of religion.
The Heliopolis appeals court, headed by Judge Tamer Atef, decided to refer the case to the Nasr City Appeals Court for a hearing on 12 November to be headed by Judge Mohamed Nafi, reported Aswat Masriya.
Abu Islam was sentenced to a total of 11 years of hard labour and an EGP 3000 fine in June, however, his sentence was suspended pending the appeal. He was sentenced on charges of contempt of religion, tearing the Bible, and “disturbing peace and security.” His son, Islam Abdallah, was sentenced to eight years in prison and an EGP 2000 fine for tearing the same Bible and disturbing public peace.
Abu Islam was the owner of the now shut down Al-Omma satellite channel. He and his son tore a Bible on 11 September 2012 during a demonstration in front of the United States Embassy in Cairo to protest against the Innocence of Muslims, a film that sparked demonstrations across the Islamic world.
